Umbreon and I
by Golden Snowflake
Summary: An outcast trainer and her Umbreon begin to travel through the Orre region in search of purpose. They incounter several unique people along the way...
1. Prologue

Let's face it: nowhere is safe anymore. Every city, province, country- they're all about sin. Drugs and violence have destroyed lives, eight - year - olds are having sex, and pornography and liberal corruption run rampant. It's not just America. It's Orre too.

That's right, even the "Pokémon World" is infected with the lowest of scum. Sunday morning isn't the Sabbath day anymore. It's hangover day. And nobody really cares about Pokémon anymore, except for those few everybody knows about, like Drew and May and Ash. They'd rather beat them for the entertainment. Team Rocket isn't the evil organization it once was. It's like a church group. Trust me, it's not all rainbows, flowers, and good versus evil like we all want you to think. I'm not playing that game. The cover's off, and deep down we're no better than any of you.

I'm different. I haven't been scarred by the liberal corruption, I don't use meth, and I don't "do it." I'm better than that. I don't need any of that, and I don't need any _one_ either. I just need me, my dark makeup, and my Umbreon.

So, as you might imagine, I travel the world, walking day in and day out, just going forward and staying far away from all of that evil. Just traveling anywhere I can go to get away from it. Climbing mountains, crossing rivers, infiltrating the occasional Phobos base- just the usual. Considering the circumstances, a colossal adventure every once-in-a-while would seem inevitable, wouldn't it?


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

I hummed to myself, dropping carefully from the rock. I straightened, flipping my hair over my shoulders and continuing to walk. I've been climbing the Orre Mountains, in case you wondered. I stepped from rock to rock, balancing on one and jumping to the next. A cold wind blew across the higher points in the formation, echoing and amplifying down where I was. It made me a little nervous, but I wasn't concerned. The sun climbed high across the sky, casting deep, jagged shadows down in the long silver cracks.

This is the way I live. I travel, I guess a bit like a trainer, but I am definitely not one.

With a bright crimson light, Umbreon appeared on a jagged outcropping a bit higher than my head. I smiled. "You're not supposed to be out here, you know."

It tilted its head slightly, golden irises shining knowingly.

"Fine, but if you get all cut up, don't look at me." Without a response, she turned and leapt out of sight. I sighed and followed, hooking my fingers over the edge and hoisting myself up. I now stood above what resembled a field, tiny stacks of hay spread evenly for at least a mile. I leapt down onto the first, balancing on my left toes before swinging my center of gravity in the direction of the next closest. I could see Umbreon several paces ahead. She had momentum going, moving swiftly from rise to little rise. Her coal colored fur rippled in the light. I decided to make an effort to keep up.

A while later, Umbreon slowed and came to a stop, each of its long limbs placed gingerly on a stone. Her head swiveled back in my direction, and I approached her, stopping and holding my arms out for balance.

"Why'd you stop?"

She gazed back up at the obstacle that stood before us. Formations of rocks are truly amazing. A few feet above us grew a smooth wall that rose and fell in spikes at the top. I met her eyes.

"Think I can make it up there?"

She angled her nose downwards as if to say, 'Good luck with that.'

Checking that my weight was centered on the rock, I bent my knees and jumped. For a moment I rushed upwards, then caught between spikes with both hands. She was beside me, balanced the way I held, waiting patiently for me to join her. I pulled myself up, wrapping my arms around a long needle of stone.

"What?" A loud voice demanded angrily.

I almost fell off, hurriedly holding tighter and trying to breathe softly.

Two figures stood a distance from us. Behind them lay a huge building that shone with an ugly, industrial kind of grace.

"I told you, she got away with all of them! I didn't get a single one back!" Shouted the tall, slim man.

"So you came to complain to me?" The muscular, darkly - complected one retorted. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Well, I couldn't go to the Baron! He'd kill me!"

"Hmm." He crossed his dark arms. "Pro'bly would."

He stomped like a flustered child. "Dammit, Grock! You fool!"

I could feel my eyes widen. He looked, and sounded, really angry.

The buff guy roared in rage. "You're way outta your league, Avery," he threatened. "One more crack like that and I'll take you out myself!"

The slim man sneered, crossing his arms. "She got yours too, didn't she?"

The other's eyes widened. "What?"

"Hmh. I knew it. Little Lucy Fleetfoot beat big, strong General Grock. You're as pathetic as I, if not more."

I glanced at Umbreon. What were they talking about?

"Don't have a tantrum," he added snidely as his acquaintance drew back a fist. "I hear she beat Aquarella as well." At this, the muscular one hesitated, appearing rather surprised. I adjusted my grip, and a tiny curtain of dust and pebbles raced down their side of the wall. Their heads both shot up in my direction. "What was that?"

"Hey, look!" I gasped in horror. They saw me. 


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two 

"Look!" Avery shouted. "What's that?"

Umbreon leapt back into the rocks. I tried to hold still, hoping that they'd seen her and not me. Either she was creating a distraction or running away.

Grock squinted. "It's a kid!"

I groaned. No such luck.

"Hey, you!" The muscular one continued. "Com'ere!"

I looked down. In a split second, I'd determined that there was no way I could get away. If I jumped, I'd get seriously hurt. I looked back up to see the slim one grabbing my wrist. I gasped.

"Get down here," he snapped. He didn't need to, though. He yanked me off the rock, and I landed roughly on the ground.

"What's a kid doin' on the mountains?" Grock questioned in an unnecessarily loud voice as Avery dragged me over to him.

"None of your business," I snapped, wiping dirt off my face.

"Got an attitude, huh?" Grock said in his explosion of a voice. I yanked against Avery's grip in response, my heart pounding in fear that I wasn't about to give into.

"Answer me," the tall one hissed, his icy eyes boring into my own. "Why are you here?"

I simply glared at him until he squeezed my wrist even more tightly.

"I'm traveling," I begrudgingly responded.

"Traveling? There aren't any towns for miles. You lie."

"I don't," I responded, clenching my fists. "I didn't know you were here."

"I don't believe you," Avery sneered, inches from my face.

Grock, who had been watching me, turned back to his comrade. "What should we do with her?"

"Let me go." I jerked my arm roughly.

Avery glared at me, then met the other's eyes. "Put her in one of the cells," Grock decided.

Avery nodded, taking a step forward. I didn't move. He looked back at me. "You had better come with me, little girl. In the case of your disobedience, I have means to kill you."

I lowered my eyebrows and followed him. Grock chuckled behind me.

With a crash, the old door slammed shut. I landed on my hands and knees, dust clouding around me, in my nose, on my eyes, down my throat. I coughed, squeezing my eyes shut. I turned to hear footsteps fading down the hallway.

I was in a cell, like the kinds you see in old movies. Cracks reached across the floor in all directions, and a layer of black filth blanketed the floor. I looked up at the ceiling, covered in cobwebs and hanging with insects. I found my feet, standing up and walking to the hallway. I ran my hand along the thin, vertical bars that held my door shut. Rust and grime fell, filling my fingernails and raining down on the concrete. The long hallway was dark, but clean and spacious. I looked down at the tile floor. How on earth could an old - fashioned jail cell be preserved in such a fancy place? Maybe it added to the desired atmosphere.

With a grunt I fell back onto the floor. It wasn't until now that the stench hit me. I'd inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with decaying flesh and mold on the dark walls. I gagged, covering my mouth with my arm. What was this place?

"I can't believe you abandoned me, Umbreon," I muttered in anger. I snarled in spite of myself, and could feel pressure building in my mouth as my teeth tightened against each other. She could have protected me. There was nothing I could do about it now, though. There was no point in wasting my energy getting all worked up. I breathed deeply, through my mouth this time, and closed my eyes.

Suddenly a thought hit me. Avery had come in and thrown me in this cell - my cell - and gone on in the same direction. Where had he gone? Down that hallway.

I got back up and put my left hand on the bar in front of me. It was thin and looked old. It wiggled a little when I moved it. I frowned. Although it was old and rusty, it was made of something strong. That one wasn't budging. But maybe…

I gingerly touched the next one, and a bit of rust shifted under my fingertips. I shook my hands off and touched the next one. It creaked. I wiggled it. It shifted, and I pulled it. Hard.

With a snap, the bar disconnected from the ceiling and the floor. It fell out onto the tile with a resounding clank.

Once I had finished my flinching, and was sure that nobody had heard it, I eased my head through the opening and peered down the hallway. It was dimly lit a ways off, and the corridor was incredibly long. There didn't appear to be any doors in the fuzzy layer of darkness, and it was safe to assume that he was long gone. Hopefully he wasn't coming back soon, I thought to myself. In the mean time, I'd better not let this sit here.

Kneeling down, I slid my arm through the gap I'd produced and reached for the cell bar. "How'd it roll that far?" I wondered audibly. With a flustered grunt, I leaned against the bars and stretched my arm. Finally a cold, sharp tip grazed my finger. I grabbed it, pulling the long column back into my cell.

There, I thought. I dropped the poll on the floor. There's no evidence. I won't get in trouble. Maybe I could even get out later if there were more weak spots. After this, though, I couldn't risk any more noisy activities for a while. I sat back down in the dirt and covered my nose.

"I'm gonna get out of here," I murmured to myself through my sleeve.

"I don't think so." A voice suddenly said, cutting through the silence like a knife. It was followed by a click that sounded... disconcertingly like the hammer of a gun.


End file.
